New Delhi:
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday made it clear that his government would not renew the lease of estates, which have completed their lease period, in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.
Hundreds of acres of land has been given on lease in Kerala's Western Ghats region and much of it falls in the hill ranges in the highest ecologically sensitive zone categorised by Madhav Gadgil Committee.
"UDF has adopted a policy, which clearly states that it is against the renewal of lease period of the estates, which has completed the expiry of its lease period. My government's decision on such estates will be based on this approach," Mr Chandy told reporters here.
He was reacting to a volley of questions on government chief whip PC George's demand that the forest department should renew the lease period of Cherunelly estate in ecologically sensitive Nelliyampathy hills in Palakkad district.
Mr George had publicly opposed Forest Minister KB Ganeshkumar's move to cancel lease deeds of Cherunelly and 27 estates measuring hundreds of acres in Neliyampathy hills.
The debate on the issue heated up further when the ruling front constituted a sub-committee and made Mr George as its member to visit Nelliyampathy and study the issues raised by him.
Declaring their opposition against any move to protect the interest of estate owners, six young MLAs from the Congress and its key allies Socialist Janata (Democratic) and IUML visited Nelliyampathy to study the situation.
They argued that conservation of Western Ghats, which have been added to UNESCO's list of iconic places, needed to be ensured and for that purpose, the estates should be taken over by the Forest Department.